Just as Big Blue Nation was ready to wash away the bad taste of the Georgetown loss and focus on the clean slate of the regular season, a concerning update has cast a shadow over Tuesday's opener against Nicholls State.
Kentucky is facing the very real possibility of starting the season without its top two point guards, and the memories of last Friday's offensive chaos are suddenly feeling a lot like a preview.
Mark Pope 'unsure' if Jaland Lowe or Denzel Aberdeen will be available
According to a report from CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, Mark Pope's "day by day" optimism has turned into game-day uncertainty. Rothstein posted, "Mark Pope tells me that he’s still unsure if Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and Denzel Aberdeen (leg) will be available for Tuesday’s opener against Nicholls."
This is the nightmare scenario for a team whose thinnest position is at the point. The 84-70 loss to Georgetown exposed just how critical a true floor general is to this offense. Without Lowe and Aberdeen, the Wildcats looked completely disjointed. They could not deal with Georgetown's physicality or their athleticism.
Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson were forced to run the point, and while both are talented scorers, they struggled mightily to initiate the offense. The team finished with only 20 made shots to 15 turnovers, with Chandler committing five of those himself. It was a very ugly night, reminiscent of the Ohio State loss a year ago.
If neither Lowe nor Aberdeen can go, Kentucky will be forced to run the same makeshift offense against Nicholls State. While Nicholls is not Georgetown, it's a dangerous way to start a season that has such high expectations. At least one needs to play, hopefully both.
For fans wondering, the last time Kentucky lost a season opener was in 2009, when a red-hot VMI team stunned the Wildcats with 111 points. BBN is desperately hoping that history doesn't repeat itself, but the lack of a true point guard suddenly makes Tuesday night's game far more stressful than it ever should have been.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion